Climate change, no longer a distant worry, now “threatens human health and well-being,” U.S. scientists warn in a new, comprehensive report released Tuesday.

Climatologists in Canada caution the impacts are the same here, too.

“Climate change threatens human health and well-being in many ways, including through more extreme weather events and wildfire, decreased air quality, and diseases transmitted by insects, food, and water,” says the over 800-page report without mincing any words.

The National Climate Assessment, compiled by 300 experts south of the border, deals specifically with the impact on the U.S. and was formally released by the White House.

The climate system doesn’t know the 49th parallel, said Andrew Weaver, a Green Party MLA in British Columbia and Lansdowne Professor at the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences at the University of Victoria.

Most of the Canadian population lives within 100 miles of the U.S. border, Weaver pointed out. “You can look at what is being said for the northwest region, the great plains region, the Midwest region and the northeast region and extend it 100 miles and you get pretty close to what is happening where all the Canadian population lives.”

Every part of the report can easily be applied to Canada, said John Smol, a researcher on environmental change at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., adding that “in some cases, the impact (of climate change) will be amplified.”

Three oceans — the Pacific, the Arctic and the Atlantic — envelop Canada, he said. “Sea-level rise will impact those who live near the coast and ocean acidification will severely affect food supply.”

The report examines the impact of climate change by regions and states but singles out sea-level rise, especially in Miami, drought and wildfires in the southwest, and heavy downpours as major threats confronting Americans today. Some changes are already having a significant impact on food production and public health, the report noted.

It also warns that unless dependence on fossil fuels is drastically cut, things could get out of control.

In many ways, this report echoes the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the UN-sponsored climate panel. U.S. scientists said that the climate is changing in the United States, and the warming of the past five decades is chiefly due to the emissions of heat-trapping gases released by human beings.

The findings of the report should prompt us to cut emissions, and to plan for the future consequences of climate change, said Smol.

“There should be a fierce urgency to tackle this problem (in Canada) but there won’t be,” he said. “The present government has made it very clear that (climate change) is not an issue they care about.”

Canada is not taking a balanced approach in moving forward, said Weaver. “We are focused on one sector: the oil and gas sector. We have no back up plan in case countries start not wanting to buy our products.”

In the U.S., there is a move to wean away from use of coal and toward natural gas and the Obama government has invested heavily in renewable energy with his stimulus funds, said Weaver.

“We have seen green job growth outstripping all other jobs growth and the (U.S.) economy on the rebound,” he said. “Canada is being left behind . . . that is deeply troubling.”

Ted Laking, spokesperson for Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq, said in a statement: “Our government is committed to protecting the environment while keeping the Canadian economy strong. Since 2006, our government has invested significant funds in more efficient technologies, better infrastructure and adaptation, and cleaner energy.”

Ottawa has also taken action on the two largest sources of emissions: transportation and electricity generation sectors, he said. “These actions are making a difference and we have done all this without creating a carbon tax like the NDP and Liberals want to do,” he said.

Environment Canada also pointed out that since 2006, the government has invested more than $10 billion in green infrastructure, energy efficiency, clean energy technologies and cleaner fuels.

“These investments will have a positive effect on reducing our emissions over the long term,” said a statement.

Canada, meanwhile, will have its own version of the U.S. report soon, said Jason Thistlethwaite, the director of University of Waterloo’s Climate Change Adaptation Project and a lead author on one chapter.

“It will find many parallels in the U.S. report,” he said, adding that it focuses a lot on adaptation.

A 2007 report by Natural Resources Canada — some say the last Canadian equivalent to this new U.S. report — said that the impact of changing climate is already evident in every region of Canada.

“Climate change will exacerbate many current risks and present new risks and opportunities,” it said.

Tuesday’s U.S. report is another in a string of extremely grim assessments on our changing climate in the past few months, admitted Smol.

“Yes, it is one more report but we have to keep doing this because it is a complex problem and complex problems need complex solutions.”